The Key to Kingdom Wealth

I am more than just a face, a body to fill the seat in your worship space.
I am more than a puppet you talk at.
I have feelings emotions; you never know where my head,
Nevermind where my heart is at.

I am more than just a face,
Occupying a bench in your worship place.
Invest in me instead of Wall Street and Walmart,
Daily look beyond yourself
And you will find, within a short time,
That I am the key to kingdom wealth.

We've lost some things along the way with Christ.
We've wallowed in deception and flaming fame,
But we run from poltergiests.
What happened to speaking to a demon in a low calm voice?
Not counseling him and giving an option or a choice.
But to take authority, give him the eviction
And bring the person back into submission
To the rulership of Jesus Christ.
Church, we've lost our way.
Could we for just one year
Be as nice as we are to each other on Christmas day?
I don't know where you dwell,
But here in the northeast, people are as cold as hell.
They can blame it on the snow, blame it on the ice,
But most Christians are invisible because they just ain't nice.
The simplest things as a hi or a smile would do the heart good.
Then you wonder why no one wants to get saved in your neighborhood.

People are more than just faces
More than just a body to fill your worship spaces.
You never know the traces of damage the world has left on their heart.
You never know the pain of their shoes til you have to walk that far.
You never know the sorrow that lies down with them at night.
You never know the bleakness of their future's light,
But 20/20 vision to see the horrors of their hindsight.
Until you open your heart, stop talking at them from behind your bible.
Always talking about your needs,
Not knowing the lows a soul has to endure for the sake of survival.

Solomon said, "Do not eat the bread of a miser."
How is it that the church can’t out-give Budweiser?
How is it that the church is holding out on the poor?
When loving, feeding, clothing, and teaching His sheep
Is all Christ is asking you for?
How can your savings account still be full
When you see sheep in need?
How can you drive away from church to go to KFC
When you know the sister sitting on the pew next to you
May not have anything to eat?
Church, it's time to trade in the stocks and bonds and the 401k's
And go back to the first century church,
The having "all things in common" days.
They pooled their resources and they elevated together
And there was nothing anyone lacked.
Which means, if Peter was full when he raised Dorcas,
Then you know her belly was fat.
And if Barnabas could sell land,
Then no apostle rented, they all owned.
Come on Saints, you do the math.
So today if Paul was traveling from Corinth to Ephesus and was to be in a jet flown,
There is no reason that Aquilla and Priscilla should've drove.

Why are you entertaining sensual, worldly wisdom,
When the world did not begat you?
Why are you holding onto what does not even belong to you?
Could it be the modern day church's issues with giving
Is hindering the abundant life we should be living?
How you treat your brother will determine your power
In this final hour.
The world needs healing and needs to be turned around
But until the church is delivered from selfishness,
Our prayers for greatness fall to the ground.

I am more than just a face,
Occupying a bench in your worship place.
Invest in me instead of Wall Street and Walmart,
Daily look beyond yourself
And you will find, within a short time,
That me, a mere sheep, is the key to all kingdom wealth.

Diggin' Through the Daily "Stuff" Just to Say Thank You Jesus

One of my favorite scriptures is, "and they overcame by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony that they did not love their lives unto death." Rev 12:11 Sometimes we hear a song and we love it and we don't know why. We are too busy to sit in the presence of God and ponder on the reasons why or the sweet lyrics that tickle our ears. We just soak it in sound byte by sound byte as we rush in and out the car, as we take the Mp3 or the ipod in and out of our ears to have a conversation. I remember as a teenager, I used to sit and study the lyrics of my favorite CD, go over who sang what part in the trio or quartet. Who was giving thanks to whom and who produced what and sang back up. But now as an adult, I don't take too much time to stop and smell the roses. Especially when it comes to the things of God, honestly. It's like we start skimming our bibles, scanning through songs and singing the same old praises from last Sunday without a conscious inkling of why we do what we do and say what we say. Robotic people of God saying in God we trust when we are really not here, our minds are caught up the cares of this life and fretting about tomorrow.

Today, I took a minute during the rushing and preparing of food for Christmas and I started to play the song that was rolling in my head. Sweet Jesus by J Moss and put it on repeat over and over again. Though the yams might burn and the dishes needed to be washed, I began to go back in the corners of mind. I wrestled with my fast-paced, multitasking mind until I could hone in on why I loved this song and especially Jesus so much. I say I love Him but why? Somewhere along the way I lost my first love and I need Him back. I began to think about all the times He's been there and it went a little something like this...

"Jesus, I thank you for being there when no one else was there. I thank you for looking out for me when I thought I was alone. Yes, there may not be a tree full of presents this year but you have given me life in You and I know what my tomorrow is going to look like." ....and the memories began to flow and so did the tears....

"Thank You Lord for ordaining me to live right now. There was a child aborted before me and one after me, I don't have to be here right now but you chose for me to live at such a time as this.

I have a scar from second and third degree burns on my hand from chemical burns when I spilled a bottle of liquid that ate through clothing and my very own flesh. At the tender age of 1 1/2 years old, the enemy wanted me to swallow it and die but You were there and I have the scar as a testimony of You're keeping power.

Lord, you placed me in the Sunday Schools so that when I wanted to commit suicide at the age of 8, the fear of hell kept me from completing every attempt on my own life.

Jesus you were there at the tender age of 9 to lead me through the prayer of salvation and to receive the Holy Spirit as I was on my knees alone in the living room. You knew it would seal me and keep me for the next 13 years of lawlessness and rebellion. You knew no one else would protect me and keep me, so you sealed me early. If You didn't, I wouldn't have lived to be 23 to accept you as Lord and Savior. The enemy had AIDS, addiction, insanity, incarceration and death waiting for me by the age of 12, but I'm here.

You were there when I was high, walking alone on the streets at night in Bridgeport.

You were there keeping me from alcohol poisoning getting drunk and high before the age of 14.

You were there when I was only 13 but people were following me late at night seeking to take my life. But though I was living in sin, you made a way of escape and I'm still here. You put the fear in their hearts not to pull the trigger.

Oh, Lord how you kept me =) When I thought I would lose my mind because I was 17 taking care of the parent who should be able to care for me.

You gave me the wit and the intelligence to maneuver through the traps and the snares of the enemy, every time, even in my sin. You kept my sanity through the emotional and mental abuse.

When the enemy told me to abort my child for the promising future of being a doctor, God by Your divine hand, You miraculously changed my mind. I will forever be eternally grateful for that!!

Lord, You were there when I was left alone at the hospital 4 months pregnant afraid and scared that something was wrong with my baby.

Lord, You were there when the doctors said there was something wrong with my son's heart and I had no one to lean on but the faith You'd given me deep down on the inside though I denied that You were God. I simply called you a "higher power" but would not acknowledge You as Lord, but by Your mercy and your grace, You pulled my son through happy and healthy even when DCF wanted to take my son my from the hospital. Thank You for my Aunt Tina having a "play n carry" play pen/bed to prove to DCF that my son had a bed to sleep in in the hotel, so that we could go home from the hospital together that Good Friday night, the Friday before Easter. =) I remember she had to drive 20 minutes from New Haven to Stratford and back to get it and show it to the worker. You didn't get the honor and the glory at the time but You knew one day that I'd come back to You and tell the world of Your goodness in spite of my mess.

Lord, You kept us when we lived alone in dark and desolate places in the middle of nowhere.

Lord, You were the one who stopped the car from exploding when my Nissan Maxima was crashed from the rear and pushed into a light post which broke and fell into the middle of the street. Exposing me and my passenger to electrical wires and fluids leaking from the car. But you kept me those late nights coming from the clubs and cars were on fire from crashing with oil tankers in the early AM hours.

Lord, You kept me even after I found my way back to You. And there've been so many things from then to now that I could've lost my mind.

You even gave me the peace and the grace to bury my own mother and do it with a grace and joy that is not earthly possible.

Through the hurt and the pain and the disappointments, You've always been there to comfort and to guide me and keep me from the destruction of the enemy. Many have been my affliction but You've always delivered me from them all.

To add, in the midst of it all, you always sent an angel, a person, a good Samaritan to come my way, just in the nick of time to make that crucial moment better. You placed me, the solitary one in families, time and time again.
Like the time when I was getting jumped by 5 or more girls on the corner of Park Ave, you sent a lady in a white Lexus to come and break it up and take me all the way across town to my home. I never saw her again.
Or the time you sent an anonymous person to pay for a week hotel stay because I didn't have anywhere to go when I left the hospital after giving birth to my son.
You sent a Parent/Teen counselor and so many others during my pregnancy to encourage me when I was battling depression and couldn't think straight on what to do with my life.
You led me to Tee Tee's house for a month when people were seeking my life. I barely knew the girl but she let me stay until I was safe and was moving to Florida.
Thank You for touching my aunt and uncle's heart to take me in in Florida, even though they didn't have much themselves. Lord, You've always made a way of escape and that door of escape revolutionized my life. I was only supposed to stay for the summer of '93, but You touched their hearts to suggest I tried school in Orlando, FL and my life has never been the same. I went from 8th grade drop out to English and Science honors classes (and was only because I came in the middle of the year). The only ghetto black girl in the Kiwanis Club. President of the Spanish Club, leader on the drill team and so much more. Lord You gave me hope where there was no hope.

Lord, thank You for the time when I spun out of control on I-91 across 3 lanes of traffic and you sent that man(angel) out of nowhere to help me back up out of the snow embankment. The stranger guided me back onto the road to continue my trip to the Hartford airport while, 3 lanes of tractor trailers, buses and cars stood still to let me pass safely. I never saw that man again, but I thank You.
I thank You for my Uncle Tony blessing us last Thanksgiving when I thought I was going to lose my mind, he stood as a comfort in the midst of chaos and mourning.

I thank You for all the people who You strategically placed in my life at the right place at the right time. The right church or the right worship song or the right movie or the right commercial or the right bible verse, just at the right time.

And if it weren't for the birth of your only begotten Son, the a young willing virgin who was willing to go through persecution for your name, I would not be here today to give You the honor and the praise. So this Christmas, my eyes are back on You and what I HAVE in You and not what I don't have of this earth right now. With You, nothing else really matters. Without You life would be over and there would be no hope for my tomorrow.

So Happy Birthday to You Jesus. You deserve all the glory and the praise. I have nothing else to offer You but the dedication of my life to Your will once again. I offer myself once again as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable in Your sight for it is my REASONABLE service for all You've done for me. Especially, dying for my salvation to be a reality. And please allow me the grace from now on the to prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will for my life.

In Jesus' name,

Amen